This idea has been nagging at me for a while now. Just a few disclosures:
- Arrow characters used are not mine (obviously), I only own the doctor!
- Medical terminologies, timelines maybe wonky to those in the industry. I tried to research as much as I can.
- This is not beta'd.
This happens sometime in season 2, likely after The Count episode. No Sara/Oliver rekindling. Thea's paternity drama didn't exist!
Thoughts and feedback are welcome!
Oliver never got sick. Yes, he's had his fair share of injuries but he was never sick. So when Felicity received a call from Dig at 2:16 in the morning, she first thought it was a very cruel prank call; except, it wasn't. Oliver did collapse and had been brought to the ER. She stood motionless until she remembered Dig was still on the phone. Then, she went on autopilot - grabbed a pair of jeans, a sweater, and flats. It was only after she was face-to-face with a shaken Moira Queen and a crying Thea Queen did she realize that her presence caught them off-guard and had it not been for the severity of the situation would raise questions that no one really wanted to answer. She mumbled a quick, "I'm sorry, I came as soon as Mr. Diggle called. Have you heard from the Doctor?" Moira tearfully acknowledged her and shook her head no.
A couple of hours later, one of the doctors who introduced himself earlier as Dr. Andrew Gartin, came out. Everyone stood anxiously, waiting for him to talk. "Mrs. Queen, I would like to speak to you in private about your son's condition." Moira made a move to join the doctor but Thea spoke, "Just tell us what's going on. They deserve to know too" as she pointed to Dig and Felicity. Moira wasn't about to indulge her daughter but Thea tearfully insisted, "Please just tell us now". Moira acquiesced and nodded at Dr. Gartin. "Well, Mrs. Queen, Oliver appeared to have gone into idiopathic liver failure. We have put him in the ICU to monitor him closely. Though liver failure progresses quite rapidly, he was brought in early and we are monitoring his condition very closely. We started a round of medication and have kept him sedated." It seemed the world stopped for everyone. Moira and Thea clutched onto each other for strength as they cried. Dig held Felicity who just kept shaking her head in disbelief. Unbeknownst to each other, both Dig and Felicity were mentally checking the previous missions, injuries, and medication that may have caused this. "Dr. Gartin, what happens now what do we need to do to make my son better?" Moira demanded. "Mrs. Queen, we are still running some tests as to what exactly may have caused this, but I am putting him on the list for a liver transplant". It was John who spoke next "Transplant list, which could take a while. What happens to Oliver? He can't afford to wait too long" Dr. Gartin looked at her briefly and then spoke again "There is also the possibility of a living donor transplant which does not require any further wait time once a matching donor. It has its risks but if we can find a matching living donor, it could avoid any onset of life-threatening complications". A collective "I'll do it" rang across the hallway. All four people who spoke looked at each other in surprise and turned to the doctor. Dr. Gartin unable to hide his surprise, said "I'll order the tests" Moira interrupted "I think between Thea and myself we have it covered, Doctor". "Just to be on the safe side, Mrs. Queen, I think it would be beneficial if Felicity and I get tested as well". Moira regarded John and nodded back to the Doctor "Like I said, I'll order the tests and get back to you immediately". Moira turned to Felicity and John. "I know this is beyond your responsibilities, but thank you. Oliver is lucky to have you as friends". No words have been exchanged after that. Just nervous glances until the doctor told them they will undergo the test to identify if they are viable donors.
A couple of hours later, Dr. Gartin came back and spoke, "We've received the blood tests and only one person has a matching blood type as Oliver. Ms. Smoak, since you have a compatible blood type, we'd like to discuss the evaluation process further - that is if you are still willing to become a donor?" Moira and Thea wore identical expressions of disbelief and the doctor took this as his cue to explain, "It is normal for a parent or sibling to have a different blood type. Rest assured that the results are accurate and at least we have found a matching blood type right away". "Ms. Smoak, follow me please as you will need to sign some paperwork as well". Felicity walked towards the doctor after receiving a comforting hand squeeze from Dig. Before she knew it, Thea engulfed her in a big hug and repeatedly mumbling thank you in her ear. Felicity smiled and hugged her back. She looked at the younger girl and was about to speak until Moira grabbed her hand. "I meant what I said earlier, Oliver is incredibly lucky to have you as his friends. Thank you, Ms. Smoak". "No need to thank me. It's Oliver, there really is no choice to make".
She took one last look at the three before moving to where the doctor was waiting for her. The doctor started talking to her about the evaluation process and in her head there is only one thing she was telling herself "I would do this again in a heartbeat". She signed everything that needed to be signed. Dr. Gartin repeated the risks of the surgery and while that scared her, the idea of losing Oliver was more terrifying. It was unthinkable. She can no longer deny the feelings she had been harboring. Her realization drowned out the doctor's voice. She just kept nodding at him. In her heart of hearts, she knew she had strong feelings for Oliver; strong positive feelings that seemed to have intensified since they got back from Lian Yu. She just knew better than to do anything to jeopardize their mission and friendship. So, she kept quiet and acted as a supportive friend/spectator as his love life went on. She was brought back to reality when Dr. Gartin asked her if she had any questions. "I'd like to know how fast we could move forward with this. I can provide my medical history before the day ends. I mean the only issue that I have right now is a peanut allergy. Oh my God, would that be a problem? Would that make me ineligible?" She was still worried that despite her efforts, it might be all for nothing. Felicity didn't even want to think about that. "Ms. Smoak, that shouldn't be a problem but we will still conduct a comprehensive assessment to ensure you are a viable donor. We anticipate that the evaluation may take about two weeks as we need to be extensive with our review of your medical history and condition. I suggest that you stop drinking any alcohol immediately. Ms. Smoak, I know you've signed the paperwork but I would like to reiterate that the physical and financial impacts are not the only impacts. You should also be prepared with the mental and emotional changes that the surgery will entail." "I understand, Doctor, but rest assured that I will proceed with this and I can figure out a way later to manage how the transplant will affect my life. I appreciate the due diligence, of course". Felicity smiled. They talked more about the procedure and scheduled the appointments to get things going. Once they were done, Felicity returned to the group.
There was an air of relief when she came back to the group about an hour later. She turned to Dig and he said, "He's awake". She smiled at that. For the first time in several hours, she smiled because Oliver will be okay, she just knew it and that was all that mattered.
"Mrs. Queen, I just want to ask if I could visit Oliver." Felicity asked sheepishly. Moira gave her a small smile before answering "Of course, dear. It's best that you two talk. The nurses are inside just checking his vitals." Dig gave Felicity's hand a squeeze before she walked towards Oliver's room after the nurse stepped out.
"Knock, knock" Felicity smiled as she approached and sat on the chair that was next to Oliver's bed. "You gave us quite a scare there, mister! How are you feeling? I mean, considering you collapsed and needed urgent medical attention. Scratch that. What are you thinking? You have that pensive face on?" Despite being in some pain (he was sedated), Oliver couldn't help the small tug on his lips. "I'll be fine, thanks to you apparently. My Mother told me about the transplant. Felicity, I do-" Felicity shook her head. "No, let me just stop you right there. Oliver it wasn't even a decision I had to make. I'll do this in a heartbeat. I'm not going to let you suffer especially when there is a chance I could help. Please don't beat yourself up over this. You have to realize that there are people out there who lo-... care for you. Do you understand? I know you still have trouble believing that you are a hero, I've said this before and I'll say it again but the fact that you are willing to sacrifice an awful lot to help the people you care about and this city makes you one. Allow someone to help you. I want to do this, not just for you, but also for me. You're one of the few people I know who I consider as part of my inner circle and I'm not about to let that circle get smaller just because you think you don't deserve help." Felicity finished her rant with tears in her eyes. She couldn't believe this man doesn't deserve help or love. Oliver, for his part, was stunned. A small voice inside his head tells him she is right. Of course, she is. It's Felicity and seeing her get very emotional and just willing to put her life at risk made something inside him snap. He's not ready for that. So instead he covered Felicity's hand in his. "Shh, it's okay. I'm sorry. I'm grateful that you are doing this for me but I don't want to put yourself at risk just for me." Felicity was about to protest but he continued. "It's hard to accept everything you said, but I believe you. I also don't know how to thank you." Felicity sighed in relief. "You don't have to thank me. I'm sure if anyone else on the team would've been in your situation you'd do it in a heartbeat as well and throw money at the hospital just to speed things up." They both laughed. "For now, if you're up for it. Maybe I can keep you company, if that's okay. Or maybe you just want to be alone. I mean, you'll end up with having a small part of me growing in you." Oliver laughed and grimaced at the same time. "Sorry! Seriously, that sounded less creepy in my head." Felicity buries her face in their hands that are still linked. "Felicity, I would love it if you kept me company. And for the record, I think it is nice if a part of you is inside me". Felicity swatted his knuckle. "Stop teasing or I'll eat all your Jello". Felicity turned on the TV and spent the next hours watching Dr. Who.
The next two and a half weeks seemed like a blur to everyone. Felicity passed the medical and psychological evaluations. Dr. Gartin and his team declared Felicity as a viable donor. Dig, in order to avoid suspicion from the police, made sure that The Arrow appeared while Oliver was not medically fit. Dig went on patrol and Felicity continued to be on the comms, despite not wanting to leave Oliver's side. She still wants to make sure Dig has support and comes back safely. Moira and Thea would take turns being in the hospital. Felicity and Dig both gave Oliver updates while they eat and watch TV from Oliver's room.
Finally, the day of the surgery came. Everyone is hopeful. Oliver, as thankful as he was for Felicity feels nervous. Not for himself but for Felicity. Felicity tried to lighten the mood by saying "Only 1 living donor in 500 people in the world actually dies, Oliver. Calm down". That didn't help. Before getting prepped for surgery Felicity asked to talk to Oliver. "Hey, I know what you're thinking and stop it. I'm doing this. It'll be fine and you will be back on your feet. Stop worrying. I'm fine as long as you're fine, okay? See you soon, liver-mate" She gave his hand a squeeze and just before she left, Oliver called out to her. "Felicity, thank you for being you." She nods and leaves.
They were informed that the surgery may take up to 12 hours. During those 12 hours, Dig was carrying a feeling of unease. When Felicity was being evaluated weeks before, she had asked Dig if she could name him as her medical proxy, just in case. He agreed given that her mother is all the way in Nevada. "I know this is such a big bomb to drop on you but there's no one else that I would entrust these types of decisions with, so pretty please, Dig?" He agreed of course, but that didn't alleviate his concerns. It's been 12 hours and Dr. Gartin announced that they are moving Oliver to his private room but had asked Dig to speak with him in private. Moira, Thea, and Dig were relieved for Oliver. "What about Felicity?" He worriedly asked. Moira reminded the doctor that Felicity was to stay in a private room as well, preferably one closest to Oliver. "Yes, Mrs. Queen we have that on our records, however, I'd like to speak with Mr. Diggle regarding Ms. Smoak". The doctor's stoic face did not give anything away. "Mr. Diggle, if you would follow me, please?" As Diggle followed the doctor, Thea looked up to him and asked to give them an update on Felicity. He nodded and left.
"What happened? Is everything okay?" Dig wasn't beating around the bush. "We have put Ms. Smoak in the ICU to closely monitor her condition. Mr. Diggle, during the transplant, Ms. Smoak went into cardiac arrest after she had a pulmonary embolism" Dig paled and had to hold onto his chair, feeling the wind knocked right out of him. "How did this happen, is she okay?" He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "We'll continue to provide treatments to avoid any additional blood clots. Since it was detected early, we were able to treat it right away, but for now we need to closely monitor her as she may go into organ failure. We've had to put her in a medically-induced coma, but please know we are doing everything we can so she can recover from this." "When can I see her?" He asked the medical details that the doctor talked about sounded so far away. He couldn't deal with it right now. He just needs to see and know that Felicity is still alive. Diggle was simmering with different emotions, anger at the situation, relief that Oliver is okay despite all of this, and worry and devastation at Felicity's current condition. He thought of Oliver and how he will likely blame himself. His limbs felt heavy and everything seemed dark.